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VIENNA - Up to 5000 people rallied in the Austrian capital yesterday to oppose deporting foreigners who have integrated well while waiting for years for a ruling on asylum requests but are eventually rejected.
Media coverage on emotive cases, such as a 15-year-old girl who went into hiding after her father and four siblings were returned to Kosovo last month, have prompted a debate about Austria's immigration law.
In a video message on television last week, Arigona Zogaj - who has been in Austria since 2002 - threatened in a tearful voice to kill herself if her family were not reunited.
"We are finally seeing the faces of this debate, the human beings behind the numbers," said David Mayrhofer, a 28-year-old psychology student, as protesters called for the resignation of conservative Interior Minister Guenther Platter.
-Reuters
